"Thoughts on a raidmax 630"

just got a raidmax 630 watt from fry's for $40 ($80-$40 mail in).... and before i mail the rebate in, i was wondering what people thought of raidmax brand. i have never heard of raidmax before, but the reviews i've found on google have been good. They seem to be a little limited though- i haven't seen ANY bad reviews and there usually are at least one, in my exp. I had (and still have) a 500 watt asus that came with my case - never had any problems, but i'm pushing its power limits (5 hds, 2 pci cards, 3 optical drives, about 8 fans, etc). let me know what you think, i've got about 4 or 5 days before i need to send in the rebate

Their high end output is good, their low end output is average at best. But you should find it does everything you need. What you want is something with a steady line on an ocilloscope, as it is not the 630 watts that does the job as much as no dips and surges.

We have seen a lot of them in the shop on units with other problems. I have not seen a bad one, and they have been out a couple of years... The fact that there is no bad info in a Google search, probably means they are trouble free.

I suspect that they are made in China under several different brand names.

The proof will come in two or three years down the road, when you find out whether it is still working, or fails as the components age and crystalize.

One thing you should consider is true wattage opposed to peak wattage: A lot of end users see the big number and think that is what they are gettingâ€¦

If you do a wattage need calculation and come up with a certain figure then you go out and buy a unit that states exactly that same wattage the chances are that you will still be short on the number you wanted to beat: The following site explains this a little more:

â€œOf course, no power supply delivers its entire rated Wattage. Some of its power is lost to resistance and converted into heat. At peak use, the Volcano power supply is rated to never drop below 75% efficiency. If it was turning an entire 25% of its power into heat, that would give you 475 effective Watts. It was running a lot more efficient than that; the Volcano was running more than 10 degrees C cooler than my Antec Truepower 430. Logically, the Raidmax PSU is considerably more efficient than the Antec.â€

The above site has a few more details that any of us could give you here in this formatâ€¦suggest you taking a lookâ€¦so far, no bad news, no big snafus and no major complaints on some quick searches. However, Iâ€™d be just as concerned with the company that makes it as well as the device in and of its self and I have not checked out the company---this you can do.

In the future, you should do your homework BEFORE you buyâ€¦that way you donâ€™t have to look over your shoulder at your last purchaseâ€¦(Like *I* never did that, right?)

Regardless, proper maintenance and up keep of the power supply should keep it, just as any other air cooled device, running smoothly. Keep it blown it out to keep the dust from building up to create a thermal barrier and you should be fineâ€¦

In passing, Iâ€™d be curious to the type and quality fan that put in the buggerâ€¦if the fans go out and or you have hitch with a sensor then itâ€™ll get fried like any cheap no name brandâ€¦

The Antec is a much better power supply than the RaidMax, but the enemy of good is better.

Much of the stuff on those sites post above is just baloney... no shop tech worth his salt, and no computer engineer would sign off on that stuff which is simply for marketing purposes. We tend to back it up with experience.

That is a far reach to judge 475% efficiency on a unit that is only providing 12 Watts... remember there are only 24 sockets on the best of them, and the output required is minimal.

Fan bearings are only a theoretical problem. It is darn rare for a power supply failure to be found there... the problem is in extremely poor electrical components tied to heat problems for the most part.

Remember, most of these power supplies are made in China, with only one brand still made in the United states... most of a $60 to $250 power supply is eaten up in profit... whereas the cost to the manufacture in China is $5.00 to $9.95.

Unlike most Computer Engineers that delegate actual repairs, I actually am a Certified Technician with over 20 years of experience and had to come up through the ranks.

Iâ€™m worth my salt in what I do and Iâ€™d suggest you read that site and pick through the information given to get what you need from it. Not all sites are geared toward complete and utter sales and not ALL â€œbaloneyâ€ ---they CAN be useful tools to gain tid bits of information and or give light to some concepts you may not have considered previously.

Donâ€™t make the assumption that just because someone gives you a lead on an informative site they actually â€œsign offâ€ on the information there.

Regardless, I stand by my advice in my previous post.

If you stick around, youâ€™ll see that Ray tends to be critical of this type of issue when it was not his idea in the first placeâ€¦but ignore that and read what information from where you can to piece together what it is you need to knowâ€¦

The information I have given you in my last post is still pertinent to the number of devices you are using.

***Fan bearings are only a theoretical problem. It is darn rare for a power supply failure to be found there... the problem is in extremely poor electrical components tied to heat problems for the most part.***

I'm beginning wonder about actual hands on approach to real computer "fix it" issues with some of the more self acclaimed here. Personally, Iâ€™ll wave â€œmyâ€ credentials around to anyone who â€œneedsâ€ to see them.

Best practice states that you should not try to repair a failing power supply. However, I'm more than qualified to do so and have done so simply by replacing the fan in more than a dozen units---Iâ€™d not call that rareâ€¦and, um, excuse me, but Iâ€™m pretty sure that heat issues, while not entirely a cooling issue for the fan with regard to components, are, at least, tied directly to the fanâ€™s purpose.

What happens is the fans either get stressed or loaded with debris...both situations make the fan wear unevenly and unbalanced...then the bearings go...sometimes you get lucky and hear a vibration or buzzing sound the fan makes while it vibrates...other times it malfunctions enough so that a certain sensor will trip thus shutting the power unit down...if the circuit completely broken then the unit just will not come back on until the circuit as well as fan replacement has been effected.

Regardless...FANS DO GO OUT.

A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link...or fan in this case...(PWS case in his case)---gosh---I crack me up.

But anyway...you get the point...when and if you decide on buying something similar, be aware of the components as well as the bigger picture of the device.

If none of of you know this: the look up E=I/r.
And yes, fan bearings do go out, There are no more sintered Bronze bearings. They are all a nylon derivitive. And YES; dirty computers=dirty fans and BAD bearings. Many of my sterile (?) computer rooms can't help but open their doors dozens of times per day &= DIRT. It happens more than you think, unless your make the UPFRONT decision to install sealed "Whispher Fans." And those cost!!! it comes down (again) to CBA. What's the cost verses the time lost???
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ya, devhardware was one of the sites i found with my initial google search. and i bought the power supply when i found it because of the short duration of fry's discounts (ie. a sale is sometimes good for only one or two days... fry's sends out a new page of deals just about every day. they also don't charge a restocking fee and have a return period of about 30 days on most stuff - for these reasons, i bought it on the spot and figured i could return it as long as i didn't cut off the upc for the rebate).

i personally haven't seen any fan problems, but i dont doubt that they can be an issue. my laptop is currently having thermal problems that aren't tied to the fans (planning on working on it tomorrow). as far as i can tell right now... the problem is either: the power inverter has burned through the coils or my mother board is drawing too much power. i bought a 3 year warranty, so if i cant find an easy fix, i'm just going to get the mother board and inverter replaced on monday.

You might run an megaohm/load test on the the voltage regulator. If it's more than 2 1/2% off line voltage, there's your problem. It's usually a plug in but can be wick/desoldered with a good fan breeze blowing and replaced.
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